Twilight Jedi
by Archangel07
Summary: Jedi Knight Aayla Secura and Jedi Master Shaak Ti encounter a mysterious, renegade force user as the Clone Wars begin to ravage the galaxy. Rated M for Mature for future chapters. Entire story currently undergoing renovation.
1. Infiltration

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. That is property of George Lucas, the lucky bastard. If I did own Star Wars, then I would keep making movies till I die. Anywho...on with the story.

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Twilight Jedi

Chapter 1: Infiltration

Jedi Knight Aayla Secura was walking around the halls of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. The beautiful twi'lek's thoughts dwelled on the war. She didn't care to think on how long it had been since the battle of Geonosis.The battle where so many Jedi had been killed. So many deaths...so many good Jedi Knights gone. Even some of the masters didn't make it out of that conflict. Ones such as Master Coleman Trebor. Aayla still had a hard time accepting that he was so easily gunned down by that bounty hunter. In reality, ithad only been a week, but each day felt like a month. But that was the past and the War was the present. She noticed that Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu were walking and chatting. She decided to keep walking and strolled past an open door. Shaak-Ti was just finishing up meditation with a group of Younglings.

"Ahh, Miss Secura. How lovely it is to see you today." Shaak-Ti beamed at her. "Would you be so kind as to aid me in a demonstration?" Aayla smiled back in return.

"Master Shaak-Ti. It would be my honor."  
Aayla entered the chamber. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of the bright young students. All of them, so young. Ready to learn. Shaak-Ti said,

"Younglings, say hello to Aayla."

"Hello Master Secura!" The all said in unison

"Now then, I'd like you to close your eyes." Aayla did as she was asked. "I'm going to enable the remote. Visualize your objective." Shaak-Ti released the training droid. It hovered and darted from side to side. It fired and Aayla immediately activated her saber and deflected the blast. Her eyes were still closed and the remote tried several more times to jolt her. Each time, she very gracefully deflected the blasts. Shaak-Ti began clapping, giving the younglings the hint. Although they did enjoy the demonstration, they can't always tell when to applaud or to be silent. Aayla smiled again at the young learners. Shaak-Ti deactivated the remote and Aayla powered down her saber.

"Remember, younglings. The force flows through you. Let it guide you, just as it guides Aayla. Master Yoda will be by soon so you can start on your saber lessons for today. Everyone say goodbye to Aayla."

"Good bye Master Secura!" Aayla grinned and both she and Shaak-Ti exited the chamber.

"Aayla Secura, please report to the hangar bay." She sighed and bid farewell to Master Shaak-Ti. As she was walking, she felt a tremor in the force. A moment later, laser fire was heard outside the temple. A fighter craft had tried to land at the temple but was shot down by a clone gunship. Aayla ran to a balcony and saw a fighter spiraling down and impact with the street adjacent to the temple. She turned and rushed around the corner and ran straight into someone. She bumped into him and they both fell over. He landed on top of her with his face almost buried in her breasts, but he quickly rebounded so she wouldn't think it was intentional.

"I'm terribly sorry about that." she said embarrassed. The stranger extended his hand to help her up. She took it and got her first good look at him. He was tall. At least six foot. He had steel grey hair with a few long platinum streaks that glowed with the light in an extremely long pony-tail. His face was covered but his eyes could still be seen. They were bright crimson. They had a focus to them, but still looked a little kind. Aayla quickly looked him over. He was wearing what appeared to be Jedi robes, but all black. He looked more like a ninja assassin than he did a Jedi. The moment she saw what he was dressed in, she reached for her lightsaber but he force pulled it off of her belt and balanced it playfully on the tip of his finger.

"A Sith!" she said surprised. The strange man said nothing. Aayla went for her lightsaber but the stranger countered by spinning out of her reach. He tossed her saber at her feet and took off down the hallway. His stride was extremely graceful and elegant. He moved with no sound and seemed to fade as he went. Aayla wondered if she had even seen him at all, but her feelings and common sense told her otherwise. She immediately called in to Master Windu.

"Master Windu! There's an intruder here in the temple! I think he might be a sith!" said Aayla through her communicator.

"What? A sith intruder you say?" replied Mace Windu calmly.

"Yes master. I ran into him just a moment ago. He had a lightsaber on his belt and he almost took mine."

"Try and track him. We'll seal off all the entrances and exits." said Windu

"Yes sir!" said Aayla. Aayla bolted down the corridor after the intruder.  
He was making his way through he Jedi Archives unchallenged by anyone. At a distance, he looked like any other Jedi there. This rogue force user slipped around the walls of information. He was met by the elderly Head Librarian. She looked at him, smiled and said, "Is there anything I can help you find, young knight?" He shifted uncomfortably and said, "Yes, I seek information on a certain medicinal herbs."  
Jocasta Nu raised an eyebrow at this remark. "Of what region and star system do you require knowledge of?" It would appear that this Knight hadn't ever tapped into the Archive's knowledge before, but she dismissed it quickly enough.  
"Oh. Um, any star systems that are in reach of planet Haruun Kal." Again, Nu looked at him with suspicion but said,

"Wait here one moment please, I will be back with the information you seek on a datapad." She walked out of sight and immediately contacted Master Windu. "Master Windu, there is a strange young Jedi here asking for information on medicinal herbs that grow among star systems around your homeworld. Should I give him the information?"

Mace Windu's calm but stern voice came over. "Take caution, he's no Jedi. Give him the information he requires. Aayla Secura and Shaak-Ti will intercept him and bring him before the council as he makes his exit."

"As you wish, Master Windu." Jocasta Nu went and uploaded the information, quite a lot of it, and handed him the datapad. "Take care, Young Jedi." The strange rogue Jedi bowed very deeply and walked hastily out of the Archive Library. Upon turning the corridor, he walked straight back into Aayla Secura. She had her lightsaber gripped tightly in her hand but it was not activated. She wanted to attack him, but she knew better than to give in to such petty feelings like revenge. She said as calmly as she could, "You are to come with me, sir. Rest assured that if you come peaceably, you will not be harmed."  
The renegade Jedi's voice was very soothing. It sounded kind and affectionate, but it also sounded hardened and tired. It was actually a little disturbing.

"I cannot comply with your request." Aayla looked slightly irritated.

"What are you doing here?" The maverick took a coin out of his pocket and said,

"How about we flip for it? Heads I tell you, and Tails we go out on a date." He flipped the coin in his hand and caught it but did not reveal what it was. Aayla looked very shocked and blushed furiously at his comment. He smirked even though his face was covered and she activated her lightsaber. She aimed it towards his neck and said,

"I will not ask again." Shaak-Ti came up behind him. He did not turn around but said,

"Aayla Secura, and Shaak-Ti. As I've heard so many tales of your beauty, they truly do neither of you no justice. I am willing to bet that your beauty is a match only by your knowledge of the force and your skills with a lightsaber."

"You are full of flattery, dark one." said Shaak-Ti. The renegade replied calmly by saying,

"It's only flattery to someone that denies its truth." He realized that he was cornered, and that he would have to fight his way out. But he preferred to keep fighting as a last resort.

"I will accompany you, so long that I am released afterwards."

"We cannot promise that. But anyway, this way." Shaak-Ti and Aayla led the mysterious man towards the Council Chambers. There was no one there yet, but they were probably all on their way. Shaak-Ti sat in her chair amongst the council circle and Aayla stood next to him. She took his lightsaber and clamped it to her belt. Shaak-Ti could not wait any longer. Her voice was calm, persuasive, and incredibly lovely.

"Why are you here? What did you come here for? Surely not information on medicinal herbs." Shaak-Ti folded her hands inside her robes and awaited his response. The intruder shrugged and said,

"Perhaps I merely wanted to see the inside of the halls myself." Shaak-Ti wanted to giggle at this comment but she knew better. She merely smirked at him.

"Come now, you underestimate our insight. As well as our resourcefulness. You can tell us, or we'll just find out for ourselves." The man crossed his arms and said,

"Well if I tell you, then where's the fun in that? And besides, you already know why I'm here. I needed the information in your archives." Shaak-Ti looked over at Aayla. She merely shrugged and said,

"I can sense no deception in his answer." The mysterious stranger looked at his watch and said,

"Please forgive my impertinence, but time is of the essence." Aayla laughed softly at him.

"What makes you think you're going anywhere any time soon?" The man snapped his fingers.

"Simple. You're going to let me go." Aayla boggled at him.

"What makes you think we'd do such a thing?" Shaak-Ti asked him quietly. The stranger simply said in return,

"Because..." He darted for the door. Aayla went to grab him and he dodged out of the way. He crept down towards the floor. He looked like a cobra rearing to strike. Shaak-Ti and Aayla drew their lightsabers and advanced on him.

"Do not make this harder than it has to be." pleaded Shaak-Ti.

"I'm sorry. As much as I'd love to stay and chat with you beautiful flowers, I'm on a tight schedule." He force pulled his own lightsaber off Aayla's belt. His blade was red. Thus making is seem even more like the stranger was a sith. He held it out in a defensive stance. So far, everything he had done was in defense, not offense. That fact made Aayla and Shaak-Ti very uneasy about him. Sith were known for their relentlessness in a fight. He hadn't attacked once yet. Aayla blitzed the stranger and Shaak-Ti went in to strike. He deflected her saber away and slowly backed towards the door. The maverick forced the doors open and fled down the hallway. Aayla charged him, tackled him to the ground and the two crashed through a window. She refused to let go so she ended up tumblingalongwith him. At the last second, he used the force and pushed her back through the window. She landed head over heels on top of Shaak-Ti, knocked her over. The two helped each other up and stared out the window. They could still see him falling. Shaak-Ticould not stand to watch ashe hit the ground. Aayla stared at the motionless body.

_He...he saved me...and I...I killed him..._ She thought to herself. She stared at the floor then back at him. She watched him stand up, arch his back and then appear to crack his neck. She couldn't really tell from this height, I mean he did look like a little ant from that heighth of the central spire.

"Master, look!" Aayla said alarmingly. Shaak-Ti turned out the window and saw the stranger waving at them. He darted towards the courtyard. A clone gunship was waiting there for him. He was surrounded by troopers. He merely raised his hands and hopped on board. But something wasn't right._ Why is he surrendering so easily?_thought Shaak-Ti.The dropship closed the bay doors and started to fly towards the atmosphere.

"C'mon Aayla, we'll follow them in our fighters!" said Shaak-Ti, half distressed at watching the young man fall almost to his death, the other half out of irritation that he might get away. The pair of Jedi tore off down the hallway towards the hangar. As Aayla was strapping herself into her own cerulean colored fighter, she called up Master Windu and Master Yoda. They were both in teaching witha group ofyounglings, but also conversing on the side.

"What is it Aayla?" said Windu.

"That rogue is escaping. We think he has clone help. They're leaving in an LAAT/1 Gunship." said Aayla as she was flipping switches and hitting buttons. "Master Shaak-Ti and I are going to pursue him." Yoda's voice came in over the comm. line.

"Be cautious, you must. No Idea, have you on what he might do. Very careful, you must be. His intentions, brought to light they must be." The old sage closed the line and spoke to Mace Windu. "Aided by clones, she says. Only one type of clone, there is that could help this young stranger."

"ARC troopers." said Windu quietly. "But we've had assurances that all were withdrawn from combat zones and put back into stasis on Kamino." Yoda calmly replied,

"Two days ago, Prime Minister of Kamino, Lama Su, contact us, he did. Told us that all of the clones in a certain stasis room had been 'Liberated'. Assault Recon Commandos. Released, thirty-five have been. Strange man we have come across today."

-Meanwhile-

Aayla and Shaak-Ti had taken off and reached their corresponding Hyper-drive rings. They were tracking the gunship and watched it dock with a larger shuttlecraft. They began to follow it, but made sure to stay out of sensor range. Shaak-Ti flew towards the ship and fired a small projectile at it. A tiny homing device attached to the hull of the transport. The ship went into hyperspace, leaving Aayla and Shaak-Ti in orbit around Coruscant. Shaak-Ti radioed Aayla.

"We'll wait a few minutes before following him."

"Alright. Master, can I ask you something?" asked Aayla.

"Of course you can, Aayla." said Shaak-Ti. "And you don't need to call me 'Master'. Shaak-Ti will be just fine."

"Alright Mas-er...Shaak-Ti. My question...It's about this..." Aayla had to search for the right word."...Rogue Jedi, we're following. He appears to be a sith at first glance... I guess what I'm saying is, he can't possibly be one. When I tackled him out of the window, he put me back into safety bypushing me back up. And he seemed to go out of his way to make sure he didn't hurt anyone."

Shaak-Ti replied gently, "Indeed. That and he was really charming." Her voice sounded a little like it was far away. "I'd be willing towager myselfas slave that he's handsome..." she said with a giggle. Aayla looked over at Shaak-Ti's cockpit in a surprised manner.

"Master? I thought I was the only one that daydreamed about...that kind of...stuff." said Aayla a little embarrassed. She reminisced back to the scene where she had the stranger outside of the Archives. _Let's flip a coin, shall we? Heads I tell you, Tails we go out on a date._ Aayla blushed furiously just at the memory of it.

"So surprised are you?" said Shaak-Ti said in an amused tone of voice. "A girl cannot always ignore what comes to her naturally. It's the same with men."

"Oh indeed it is! My former master, Quinlon Vos, had his eyes on you for a while when he still operated in the temple." retorted Aayla. Shaak-Ti merely shrugged and said,

"And I've seen Obi-Wan glance at you from time to time, dear Aayla. Even Master Kenobi can't stand to notadmire your beauty. I think all of the younger padawans ogle you all the time." At this point, Shaak-Ti was now flat out teasing the twi'lek.

"Oh yeah? Well how about Even Piell's padawan? He had a hologram of you and was found mast-"

"We will not speak of that incident." Shaak-Ti cut in. She sounded pretty irritated at this point and Aayla knew she had won round one.

"We've waited long enough. Let's see where our friend dropped out of warp."

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Chapter 2 coming up very soon. Review if you want, just don't burn me too bad. 


	2. And they called him Twilight

Chapter 2: And they called him _Twilight_

The homing beacon they placed on the hull of the transport lead them to Naboo. The mysterious force user's transport gained docking clearance on the surface. Shaak-Ti and Aayla followed him down planetside and landed close by to his ship. To their surprise, the watched him get off the transport. The transport took off and flew away. Oh well, at least they could track that ship. Aayla tracked the renegade's position through Theed on foot. Shaak-Ti decided to fly air cover. The stranger rented a speeder-bike and Aayla did the same. He hopped on the bike and looked around. He knew he was being followed, but he did not notice anyone nearby. He looked straight at Aayla, stared at her, but then kept scanning, as if he did not recognize her. The maverick sped off on his bike and Aayla followed his lead.

Overhead, Shaak-Ti had Aayla's bike tagged as a friendly and the rogue's as a Friend or Foe signature. The stranger came to a small hovel out in the plains near a gathering of trees. The shack looked abandoned, but looks can be deceiving. He parked the bike and entered through the entrance. Aayla hid near a large bush and waited for him to come out. After a few minutes, the renegade came out of the hovel with a pack on his back. He went to his bike, was about to jump on when he turned around.

"You can come out, Secura." He said with irritation that he allowed himself to be followed. He did not see it, but he heard the Jedi-Starfighter. "And you can tell Shaak-Ti that she can land now." He set the pack on his speeder-bike and walked over to Aayla. He took his lightsaber and tossed it on the ground at her feet. Shaak-Ti landed her fighter near by and came out to join the two.

"Who are you? Please, tell us. And why not take off the mask? I bet you're really handsome." said Shaak-Ti in a half mock, half curious tone. The man sighed and began unclick the fasteners on his mask. Aayla whispered to Shaak-Ti.

"Remember when you said you'd bet yourself into slavery on him being handsome? I got one day of servitude that says you're wrong!"

"You're on!" retorted Shaak-Ti. The maverick removed the back part of his cover and then hesitated when he reached for the front. Reluctantly, he removed it. His facial expression was not angry, nor was it happy. It was neither playful nor seductive (at least on purpose). It looked stressed, but still had some energy in it. Aayla looked at him surprised. He was extremely good looking. His cheeks were slightly angular and his chin was neither too big nor too small. He did however have a large scar that went from just over his right eyebrow, extended down over his eye and ended adjacently with the bottom of his nose. The cerulean Jedi found herself blurting out,

"You're not handsome, you're gorgeous!" The stranger felt himself going extremely red at this comment. Shaak-Ti nodded her head in agreement but then whispered to Aayla.

"Ha! I win our bet." She turned to face him. "And what is your name sir?" The stranger did not answer. "I'm sure you already know us, so there is no point in introducing ourselves to you. We mean you no harm at the moment, do we Aayla?" Secura could not seem to take her eyes off of him. Shaak-Ti noticed that she was...entranced...by him, and she felt the same way, but was not so open about her opinion. "Aayla?"

"Oh! Sorry master. No, indeed we do not mean you any harm." Aayla kept her eyes locked on him. The stranger closed his eyes and said softly,

"I'm called _Twilight_" said he said. Shaak-Ti arched an eyebrow at him.

"'Twilight'? Why are you called that?" she asked suspiciously. Twilight turned and said,

"What does it matter?" snapped Twilight. His voice had a taint of hostility in it. Shaak-Ti looked taken aback at his answer.

"I am sorry...I did not mean to offend you." she said while holding one hand up to chest level and the other down at her side. Shaak-Ti looked over to the blue twi'lek. Aayla still had her eyes intently on him, and her mouth was twitching at the corner.

"How did you survive that fall? I watched you hit the ground from the central spire." Twilight turned back around to face the two Jedi.

"I am in a rather large hurry...so unless you plan to kill me right here and now, I'm afraid I have to leave." said he said. The man seemed different than he was in the Temple. Aayla noticed that he was still very polite and respectful. He was still friendly, but more 'straight to business.' She spoke gently to him,

"What are you in such a hurry to do?" The twi'lek crossed her arms and looked at him. "What could there be of more importance than the safety of the Republic, which you are currently threatening I might add."

"This is nothing that concerns the Jedi Order or the Galactic Republic." he said 'a-matter-of-factly'. He stared back into Aayla's eyes for a few seconds. During this, she was hit with a vision of the stranger fighting a Sith acolyte. The acolyte knocked the lightsaber out of his opponents hand and was about to cut him down. Secura gasped and turned her head away, losing the vision.

"Aayla, what's wrong?" asked the red-skinned Jedi. Aayla regained her composure and stood up.

"Nothing's wrong." replied Secura. "And you..." the blue vixen pointed her finger at Twilight. "How can you say that your problem doesn't concern the Republic? And the Jedi, we're peacekeepers. We give aid to many all over the galaxy. How can you just dismiss that?"

"Very easily. Now stand aside." replied the rogue. Aayla did not move. She picked up Twilight's lightsaber off of the ground and examined it more closely. It was the same hilt design as her own. The Arbiter configuration. She tossed it back to him. Twilight caught it out of the air and held it in his hand.

"If you wish to leave, then you have to defeat us." said Shaak-Ti smoothly. She drew her own lightsaber and Aayla made ready as well. The stranger activates his own saber. The red saber hummed along with its green and blue counterparts. Then, Aayla attacked.  
She struck with a combination of three standard attacks, one sweep, and a lunge, rolled into one 5-hit combo. Twilight deflected all the attacks and spun around so he was in-between the two women.

"Sandwiched...Not sure whether this is a good or bad thing right now." he said in a joking manner. Aayla had had quite enough of this man. He continually poked fun at them, and she didn't like it. The pair of women continually barraged him with attacks, all of which he was able to dodge, parry, or deflect. After several minutes of this, Aayla jumped up into the air and brought a violent swing down on him. He blocked it and forced her back. Twilight then vaulted over her and caught her with a side attack. She blocked it, but left her back undefended so he playfully slapped her butt.

"Eep!" she was all she could manage to say as he patted her gluteus maximus. She backed away blushing heavily and looking very alarmed. Shaak-Ti tried to charge at him, but he used the force and stopped her in her tracks. Aayla had no idea what to make of it. She couldn't tell if it was just a psychological move, or if he was hitting on her again. Either way, it was working. Twilight strode over to Shaak-Ti and made several cuts with his lightsaber. Twilight walked over to his speeder-bike, put his mask back on and straddled the seat of his speeder-bike. Just as he was about to speed off, he snapped his fingers and the field holding Shaak-Ti released. The front of her robes split open, revealing her bust to the sun. All she could seem to say to that was also,

"Eep!" as Shaak-Ti gasped, dropped her lightsaber, fell to her knees on the ground, and pulled her robes closed. Even though her skin was an orange-red color, Twilight could tell she was blushing even more than Secura. Aayla came back to reality when she saw Shaak-Ti fall to the ground and rushed over to help her.

"Master, are you alright!" said Secura. Shaak-Ti replied with a,

"Yes, I'm fine...can't say too much about my dignity though." Shaak-Ti shot a dirty look at Twilight, but then lost most of her anger towards him. He had not stood to admire his handy work. She could sense him turning red, but could not see it through his mask. Despite his flirtatious manner he was quite the gentleman. Twilight gunned it and Aayla hurried over to her own speeder-bike.

"Master, I have to go after him!" said the twi'lek.

"Be careful, Aayla. I sense that he still has power hidden." said Shaak-Ti. The cerulean blue beauty jumped onto her speeder-bike and sped off, desperately trying to catch up to him. Twilight arrived back in Theed and dropped off his speeder bike at the rental shack he got it from. He darted swiftly and silently towards the starport. As he reached the starport, Aayla was dropping off her own bike. She radioed in to see if there were any clone garrisons nearby.

"This is Jedi Knight Aayla Secura, calling in to any Republic troops in the area. I need immediate backup en-route to Theed Starport. Does anyone copy?" After a few minutes, someone finally answered.

"This is the Theed Defense Battalion at your service, Miss Secura. How many soldiers do you need sent to the starport?" came the voice of a Clone lieutenant. Aayla replied to him,

"Send two squads there, I'll meet up with them at the entrance." And with that, Aayla hurried off to catch the man before he tried to escape.

Twilight was searching for a particular ship amongst the docking bays of the starport. He felt Aayla's presence drawing nearer. Shaak-Ti was able to bind her robes together so it was no longer as revealing, but she was still embarrassed about it all the same. She climbed into her fighter and took off to join Aayla in their man-hunt.  
The clone troopers marched their way to the Starport and met Aayla in the front as planned. They all saluted her, which she gracefully returned and gave them their orders.

"First squad, you're with me. Second squad, cover the doors and make sure that no one leaves."

"Yes ma'am." The troopers burst into action. Second squad covered the entrances and exits while Aayla and her squad searched the starport for their target. After about ten minutes, she found him, and Twilight had found the ship he was looking for. Secura signaled for the squad to drop and remain silent. As she watched him, she told the clone Sgt. to look up the ship's name and registration in the records. The soldier took out a datapad and began searching for it. A man came down the loading ramp. He was tall, lanky, and had brown hair.

The two bowed to each other and Twilight gave the man the pack on his back. The man pulled out a briefcase and opened it. Aayla could not see what was in it from this distance, so she took a trooper's binoculars. The zoom hummed and allowed her to spy more closely on the two. The briefcase was filled with credits, perhaps over five hundred thousand.

"Wha?" she found herself whispering. "What's all that for?" Twilight nodded at him but did not take the briefcase. "Trooper, hand me the sonar gun will you?" A clone handed Aayla a directional microphone so she could listen in on their conversation.

"I trust you will take these credits where they are needed?" said Twilight.

"You have my word. The things you need will be taken care of." The man looked awfully familiar to Aayla. _Where have I seen his face before?_ She thought to herself.

"I have your word…but I don't trust it, politician." Replied Twilight coldly. The man's face grew a bit uneasy.

"I see…well…I shall get this done for you. Just as you did what you promised, I shall do as I promised." said the man, swelling with pride.

"We shall see, senator." Aayla had placed the mike down at this time and called the squads attention.

"Sgt." she whispered. "Take two men with you and sneak around behind them. I'll distract him, and you clock him in the back of the head with your rifle, got it?"

"Yes ma'am." Three clones snaked their way around the area and came up behind the two. Twilight and this politician had concluded talking. The man walked back onto his ship. A trooper handed her a datapad with all the ship information. It was a corellian corvette class blockade runner. It's registered name was _Tantive IV_. Then it hit Aayla like a ton bantha fodder. That was Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan. _But…what would such a reputable senator be doing dealing with a maverick like Twilight?_, Secura thought to herself. The ship took off, leaving Twilight alone in the hangar. Aayla approached him, lightsaber drawn. The squad tailed her and kept their rifles at the ready. Shaak-Ti arrived and landed in a nearby hanger. She had her robes wrapped tightly around herself so she wouldn't be exposed and after a minute she joined everyone in the hangar.

"Throw down your weapon and come quietly, or we will be forced to fight you." Said Aayla. Something about this man did not seem right to her, but then something also felt as right as it could possibly be. She decided to ignore her thoughts for now and put her mind there and then where it belonged. Twilight did not look up, nor did he speak. He felt the presence of the clone Sgt. advancing on him. The Sgt. was no more than a foot away when he looked up at him. The trooper froze.

"Hey buddy?" said Twilight calmly.

"What?" replied the clone.

"You better hope the first one knocks me out."

With that, the trooper brought his rifle butt against the side of Twilight's head. He was knocked unconscious. Aayla and Shaak-Ti bid the troopers farewell and assured them that they could handle it from here. Aayla dragged him into her fighter and rested him behind the pilot's seat. She made sure that the force would keep him asleep at least long enough to get back to Coruscant. With that, the two lovely Jedi took off and rocketed into space.

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Chapter 3:_ Things Fall Apart (It's scientific)_ coming soon, sorry about this delay. It might be a week before I can get Ch. 3 up though.


	3. Desperate Alliances

Chapter 3:  
_Desperate Alliances_

Aayla and Shaak-Ti had reached orbit in Coruscant with no problems. With the aid of the force, Secura was able to keep Twilight subdued until they dropped off their hyperspace rings. As she flew through the atmosphere, Aayla could feel him stirring.

"Rise and shine. You sleep pretty soundly for such a well-formed guy." said Aayla. _Omigosh! Did I just compliment him?_ She thought to herself as she blushed. Twilight was not in the best of moods and he had just regained consciousness, so he just assumed she was mocking him.

"I only did get hit in the head by a blaster rifle. No wonder I didn't put up much of a fight on the way here." said Twilight irritably. He did not have enough room to move, much less over power the Jedi and take control of her ship, so he stayed put. Shaak-Ti flew ahead of her and landed in the hangar at the Jedi Temple.

"Before we take you before the council, why not go ahead and tell me what is was you gave to Senator Organa?" said Aayla as she flew around the central spire. She refused to land until she got a straight answer from him.

"Why should I tell you anything?" he asked calmly.

"Because if you don't, I'll kill you right here." said the twi'lek.

"Sorry my dear, but you can't bluff if you're life depended on it. But since we had a bet going, I'll tell you." Aayla assumed he meant that when he flipped his coin, he lost, but she did not bother to make sure. "I gave the senator some precious materials and his reward for me is going towards medical supplies, food, water, and other commodities like that. Satisfied?" the man said. Aayla could not sense any deception in his voice, but she did think he was a Sith, and Sith were masters of deception. She reluctantly landed her fighter and scootched up her seat so Shaak-Ti could watch him get out. A Jedi came and handed a pair of binders to Aayla and she slapped them onto his wrists while Shaak-Ti relieved him of his weapon.

Finally, the dynamic duo led him into a cell block. Twilight could tell that it was rarely used. There were no current prisoners in it, and almost all of the cells looked brand new. Only a couple looked like they had been used in the slightest. They were actually quite extravagant. Some had poufy couches and other's had comfortable looking lounge chairs.

"This place is for force sensitive prisoners and people that are too important to be left in the normal jails." said Shaak-Ti.

"Feel comforted that we would not put you in with the murderers and rapists." snickered Aayla.

"You should fear for their safety, not mine." said Twilight. His calmness over this statement concerned Shaak-Ti, but she was more concerned with getting this situation dealt with.

Shaak-Ti left to go inform the council that the renegade was subdued. Aayla was left alone to guard him. She shoved him into an empty cell and sat down with him on the inside. Twilight could sense her hostility. She was ready to cut him down if he threatened her or the temple so he decided not to do anything that would make her feel that way, but he could also feel that she was very curious about him. It was apparent that Aayla felt somewhat certain that he would not try anything because she spread out and lounged onto a poufy sofa. She put her hand onto her forehead and closed her eyes for a moment. As she closed her eyes, Twilight was standing near the door, but when she opened them, he sitting on the floor in the corner. She sat up in surprise. She could not even sense his movement let alone hear it. She thought to herself,

_This guy...how can he mask his presence so well? He has so much knowledge of the dark side...but...he seems so clouded. I don't know what to make of him._

The man simply tilted his head to the side as if wondering what she was thinking. He looked pretty uncomfortable.

"Why not sit on the chair. Or come sit here next to me? It would be a lot more comfortable." said the blue twi'lek. "Or am I too much woman for you to handle?" Aayla snickered at her own comment but quickly stopped. She peered over at him. He was turning red, but he held his composure.

"Yeah, I suppose you are too much woman for me to handle..." he said jokingly, but then became serious. "These kinds of places are never comfortable to me...These cushions only make me uncomfortable." Aayla arched an eyebrow at him..

"Make you more uncomfortable? How could you not like something this wonderful?" she said as she stretched out on her couch once more.

"I'm sorry...I shouldn't have said anything..." he said.

"What? Why not?" she said. She looked genuinely interested over what he had said, but Twilight was not going to give in.

"No. I'm sorry I 'sparked an interest', but It's better that you didn't know anything about me." The twi'lek sat up, put her hands on her hips and began to pout.

"Aww...C'mon. You can't just say something like that and NOT tell me! That's not fair!" Twilight looked at her. She pouted pretty well. He almost felt like sharing his hell with her, but he knew better.

"No." he said flatly. "My life is not something I just discuss with anyone, especially not Jedi and especially not lovely-." Twilight caught himself and she turned a bit pink. She stood up and leaned towards him.

"No! I will not let you just leave me hanging at a comment like that! You're here for a while, conversation will do you some good!" she said irritably. Twilight found himself standing by the time he spoke.

"I said NO!" he shouted. Aayla drew her lightsaber and held it outward.

"There's nothing you can do to stop me. You don't even have your lightsaber. Start yacking!" Twilight narrowed his eyes and said menacingly,

"Listen Jedi, I don't need a lightsaber to kill you." Twilight extended his hand and began to influence the force. Aayla wondered how he could do this since he was in a force restricting cell. The bars of the door began to bend in odd angles, the ground shook lightly and the binders on his wrists began shuddering. The locks flicked open and the shackles dropped to the floor. The rogue held his hands out to deepen his focus on his power. After a moment, he lifted her up off the ground and held her spread eagle in mid air. She tried to struggle, but it was futile. His mask opened suddenly and dropped to the floor. His eyes were glowing of red and his teeth were bared. The entire cell began to shudder violently and the door broke off it's hinges and the furniture began to move. The room literally seemed like it was falling apart. Aayla's entire skeletal structure started to ache and she moaned out.

"Ash!" As soon as Twilight realized he was starting to hurt her, he regained his senses and released her. She dropped to the floor and caught her breath. Twilight turned his back to her and set everything right. He placed the door back where it belonged, fixed the furniture and put his mask back on. After that, he shackled himself back up and sat down, still with his back facing her. He drooped his head and refused to face Aayla. She looked at him, not with hostility, but with utter confusion. He could have killed her and escaped. But he didn't. She could have sworn she knew what he was, but with each encounter, her judgment of him became more and more clouded. She left the cell. It looked exactly as it had before his vent of anger. After Secura left him there alone, Twilight began to meditate to try and calm himself. After several hours, Aayla returned to find him speaking softly to himself. He was reciting segments to what she assumed was his own code of conduct.

"The crystal is the heart of the lightsaber...the saber is the heart of the Jedi...the Jedi is the heart of the force. The force is the heart of the Jedi...the Jedi is the heart of the saber...the saber is the will of the Jedi...the Jedi is the will of the force..." he paused. Then he spoke softly once more. "...but...I...am no Jedi..." Twilight quickly realized that Secura was listening to him. "Come in, Jedi."

Aayla opened the door to his cell and found that he was still bound and still facing the corner like he was in "time out". She looked at him and said,

"There is no need to punish yourself Twilight. After all, your anger is what gives you your strength after all." she said coldly. Twilight finally turned back to face her. He looked at her with sorrow in his eyes.

"I do not expect you to forgive me, but I am sorry I...lashed out at you." said Twilight. Aayla waved her hand dismissively at him.

"Whatever. It's time to present you before the council. We must wait here for Shaak-Ti and Master Kolar to come down here for us." she replied. Aayla kept wondering about the code he was saying. It sounded very much like the Jedi code. _There is no emotion; there is peace..._ she thought to herself. _He is definitely not at peace. I sense much emotion in him...and why do I constantly find myself reflecting back on emotions? This man...is so incredibly...frustrating._ A few minutes went by until finally Shaak-Ti and the zabrak, Agen Kolar, arrived to escort him.

The trio escorted him through the halls of the temple, up a turbolift, through more corridors, and finally they arrived at the council chambers. The doors opened and the three walked into the chambers. Shaak-Ti and Master Kolar took their seats in the Council circle while Aayla stood with Twilight. Shaak-Ti held up Twilight's lightsaber and Master Yoda willed it over to him with the force. He and Master Windu examined it while Ki-Adi-Mundi's voice rang through the room.

"Who are you?" said the Jedi Master. Twilight did not answer at first. Aayla elbowed him to give him a hint. He bowed respectfully to Ki-Adi and said,

"I am Twilight."

"Twilight? Come now young man, you don't expect me to believe that's your name do you?" Again, he did not speak until Aayla elbowed him.

"I did not say that was my name, sir. That is just what I'm called."

"Well? What IS your name then?" said Adi Gallia with slight irritation. Aayla went to elbow him again, but he sensed it coming and said something as soon as her arm wiggled. Yoda sensed something oddly familiar about this man.

"That is not something you need to know, Master Gallia." said Twilight quite frankly. She looked rather displeased that her question had been denied an answer. Aayla leaned over and whispered to him.

"These are the most powerful Jedi in the order. It might be wise to answer their questions." Twilight said nothing and remained still.

"Very well then, Twilight. Now what were you doing snooping around in our Archives?" asked Ki-Adi calmly. Twilight responded instantly this time.

"I just needed some information..." he said quietly. His constant evasion of their questions was beginning to irritate a few people.

"You do not fully grasp the concept of 'prisoner' do you?" snapped Master Ranscisis.

"Temper temper, Master Ranscisis. After all, anger is a path to the dark side." he said with a smirk. His face was still veiled by his mask though.

"Before you comment Master Ranscisis, interject I must." said Yoda. "Speak to you alone, young rogue, if mind you do not." Twilight bowed and said,

"As you wish." Yoda summoned his little hover chair and lead him out of the council chambers. Twilight walked as Yoda floated along in his chair. After a few minutes, Yoda spoke.

"What, may I ask, in the Archives did you require?" said the green Jedi master.

"I merely needed some medical information, Master Yoda. I obtained what I needed and have done nothing wrong since I got it."

"Ahh, but agree you do that took it you did?" said Yoda.

"Yes. I did take it. Although from my point of view it was given to me. The head librarian gave it to me on a datapad."

Yoda made idle conversation with him for the next ten minutes. While he conversed, Yoda searched Twilight's mind with the force and tried to find out anything he could about this young renegade. All Yoda could see at first were random images from Twilight's early childhood. He caught on to what Yoda was doing and tried to defy him, but Twilight's mental conditioning was no where near strong enough to stop the most powerful master in the Jedi Order. Twilight let his posture slip and his head droop in shame. The rogue dropped to his knees and did not look up. Yoda did not need another hint.

"Clouded, you are. Much anger, I sense in you, but little fear I can see. Not uncommon in a disciple of the Dark Side." Twilight did not move.

"Please...do not call me that."

"Anger you, the truth does, young one? A dark side adept you are. A Sith Acolyte you were, but no longer you are. A deal, I will make with you, vigilante." Twilight looked up at Yoda.

"I am of no use to you Master. I'm not even any use to myself. I do not understand what a lowlife such as myself can accomplish for you." he said bitterly.

"Only a lowlife, in your eyes you are. The good you are trying to bring to Haruun Kal, proves you wrong." replied Yoda.

"One good deed does not make up for a lifetime of sin." said Twilight. "I will help with the task you have, but I would prefer you did not mention anything about my past to anyone. That nightmare is mine and mine alone...I wish I could have prevented you from seeing it. One less worry for you, Master."

"So worried about this old fool, are you?" said Yoda with a little laugh. "But respect your wishes, I cannot. Refrain, I shall from speaking anything to anyone outside the council. Safe with the council, your secret is, but soon I must tell them."

"I suppose that's the best I can get given the circumstances." said Twilight.

Once outside the Council Chamber doors, Yoda spoke again. "Remove your shackles I will, but only after the council agrees with me on this matter. Come. You must wait outside the chambers while we discuss this matter. Master Ti will remain out here in the hall with you." The red skinned beauty excused herself from the chamber and Yoda re-entered. As they waited, Shaak-Ti felt how nervous he was. She peered at him and he glanced over in her direction. As he looked, she smiled at him. Twilight finally spoke.

"How come Secura is not out here? I did not think she was on the council."

"She is being briefed on her next assignment. Why the fascination with Aayla?" teased the Jedi master. Twilight felt himself going red.

"I...I was only curious. I'm not used to Jedi customs and all!" he said quickly.

"Right." replied Shaak-Ti with a wink and a grin. "But I think it's better we keep her away from you."

"Why is that?" asked the renegade. "I mean besides the fact that she probably wants my head on a vibro lance."

"Huh? How could you possibly think that young one? I can sense from her nothing but fascination for you. If you mean the incident down in the detention block..." Shaak-Ti paused for a moment and thought about it.

"She...told you all about that?" said Twilight nervously.

"Of course she did. Now you really think that she wouldn't inform the council that the rogue force sensitive man being held in our own specially designed cells has enough knowledge of the force to not only break the door off of a room that is meant to restrict force access, but also shake the very foundations of the level? Come now, I expected more from someone like you." said the Jedi with a giggle. "But I can understand her fascination. You are an intriguing one." She paused for a moment, then spoke very softly to him. "Do you...do you mind if I...well, umm...see your face again?" Twilight sighed and shook his head.

"Go ahead, but you'll have to remove my mask yourself." Shaak-Ti approached him and slid her fingers gently over the locks that held his face mask in place around his head. After she flipped all the locks open, she grabbed the front and back ends and pulled the mask carefully off his face. For some reason, the mask was able to hide the scar over his eye. It looked as fresh as the day it had been cut. The angry line carved deep into his visage, but did not enhance or lower his handsome appearance. For all she cared, he could have had one eye, a chunk of his nose missing and scars all over his cheeks. He'd still be good looking. Twilight closed his eyes and turned to face her. Shaak-Ti ran her hand gently over his forehead and held it up against his cheek. She quickly pulled her hand away as the council chambers opened. The masters were leaving and he noticed Adi Gallia and Rancsisis were not looking too pleased. As Yoda left, he hobbled over to Shaak-Ti and Twilight. With a wave of his green hand, the binders on Twilight's wrists opened and dropped to the floor.

"Employed by the Jedi, you now are, Twilight." he said "Only executed by an infiltrator, this assignment can be. Introduce I may, your associates for this task." He pointed at Shaak-Ti. "Believe I do, Master Ti you already know, and Young Aayla." said Yoda. "The last, I do not believe you know as well. Introduce to you I do, Master Fisto." Fisto came out of the Council room almost on cue. Twilight bowed respectfully to Fisto who returned it with a curt nod.

"Pleasure to meet you formally, young one." said Fisto. "I trust we can rely on you for this assignment."

"The pleasure is all mine. I will do the best I can for you. And the next time some one calls me "young one" again, then I am not going to be happy." said Twilight.

"Oh. My apologies dark one." said Fisto with a smirk. Twilight laughed a little but it only made him feel worse to be called dark.

_I thought I had given up my dark nature...but apparently they can see through me more clearly than I can._ Twilight thought to himself. He looked up and took his mask out of Shaak-Ti's hands. "So what kind of slave labor do you have me for, Jedi?" he asked.

"Brief you tomorrow, Master Fisto will. For now, rest everyone should." Yoda limped away. His cane made a dull _thud_ each time it hit the floor. Fisto bowed and walked off down the corridor, leaving the three there. Shaak-Ti looked from Twilight, who refused to meet Aayla's gaze then peered over at her who had her eyes locked on him. The red-orange Jedi grinned to herself.

"I'm afraid we don't have any quarters for you this evening. Any idea where he can stay, Shaak-Ti?" questioned Aayla. Shaak-Ti let forth a huge grin and said,

"He can stay with one of us!" Aayla looked shocked at such an idea. Her jaw dropped and she took Shaak-Ti aside to speak with her privately.

"What are you thinking!" whispered Aayla. "You have no idea what he might do while we're asleep! You have no idea how he thinks or what drives him! How do you know he won't throttle one of us in our sleep? And besides..." Aayla blushed. "It just wouldn't be proper." Shaak-Ti looked disappointed at her answer. She put her hands on her hips and looked sternly at Secura. "Oh fine. I'll let him stay with me tonight." said Aayla. Shaak-Ti grinned and winked at her.

"Sir Twilight? Aayla has..." she coughed lightly. "...graciously volunteered to let you stay with her tonight. Tomorrow, we start on Master Yoda's assignment, but now we should all rest. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask Aayla or myself."

"No need to call me 'sir'. Twilight does just fine, Master." replied Twilight. Shaak-Ti giggled just a little bit.

"And you have no need to call me 'master'. Good night to both of you." Shaak-Ti walked off down the hallway leaving Aayla and Twilight alone.

"Alright, c'mon Sith." Twilight winced when she called him a Sith, but did not say anything. He followed her as instructed and after a few minutes, they arrived at her quarters. Aayla looked at him then looked at a couch in her living room. Twilight nodded and said,

"I apologize that you have to put up with me tonight." Aayla did not answer him. "Would you prefer if these were still on?" He held up the binders that he had clapped on his wrists earlier. Aayla laughed at his comment.

"Not like it really matters. You can just break out of them if you wanted to." she said.

"True, but why would I want to betray the trust of the Jedi Order?"

"Who said the Jedi Order gave you it's trust in the first place?" retorted Secura. Twilight grinned.

"Touché." He threw the binders onto the table. Aayla showed him around.

"There's a kitchen in there, a bathroom down that hall, and a meditation room in there." Aayla pointed to each room as she spoke. Twilight peered curiously down the adjacent hallway.

"What's down there?" he said. Aayla hesitated before speaking.

"...the master bedroom..." she said.

"Ahh…'No-man's land'. I gotcha." said Twilight. The twi'lek woman couldn't help but laugh. She gave a hearty chuckle at him and turned to face him.

"Not entirely, but words of wisdom; Keep out." she said. "Now, I don't normally have to worry about keeping guests, but the couch is pretty comfortable. If you're hungry, my fridge or cupboards should have something edible in there...I hope...anywho. The bathroom has a shower if you need it and I daresay I don't need to tell you to keep FAR from the door if I'm in there." Twilight nodded. "Alright then, well I'm going to bed. Good night, Twilight." said Aayla with a sigh. "You're really going to have to tell me your real name sometime." Twilight smiled lightly.

"We'll see." he said. "Good night Miss Secura." With that, Aayla strode over, hit the lights, and left into her room. She closed her door and locked it just to make sure. Aayla then pulled off her boots and collapsed on her bed. She removed her shirt then slipped out of her pants. The cerulean beauty crept towards the door and put her ear up to it. She could not hear anything nor could she sense his presence. So far, it would seem he hadn't tried anything. Aayla put on a silk mini-skirt robe. She couldn't remember where she had gotten it, but it was incredibly comfortable. She sat down on her bed and began to meditate. After an hour, she drifted to sleep.

-Meanwhile-

Twilight was having trouble getting to sleep. The vigilante's thoughts kept wandering. He thought of the Order.

_These Jedi will never trust me...They only need me here so they can monitor me and make sure I'm not one of the Sith. They're never going to accept me...I guess I can't blame them...but as soon as I've finished their task, they're just going to discard me...these Jedi have no idea who they're dealing with. _He was thinking of Aayla by the time he finally nodded off.

* * *

Had to fix a few errors, but like I said last time, Ch. 4 will be up soon. Hope you enjoy and sorry ffor the typos. 


	4. Preparation

Chapter 4:

_Preparation_

Aayla slept pretty soundly that night. It was certainly a welcome change. She hardly ever got a good night's sleep anymore, what with the war and all. She had only woken up once through the night, but even then she was able to drift back to sleep fairly quickly. Aayla sat up in her bed, yawned lazily and stretched her arms up into the air. As she got up, she stretched again and walked over to the door and exited her bedroom. The twi'lek arrived in her living room to find Twilight asleep on the couch. She could hear his soft breathing and couldn't help but smile at him. He actually looked like he was at peace.

Aayla crept down the hallway and walked into the bathroom. She shed her silk robe and turned on the shower. The running water made a gentle and soothing sound and as soon as the water was hot enough to boil a rock lobster, she stepped in. As Aayla was bathing, she began to sing softly to herself.

_"Deep in the night, far off the light,_

_Missing my headache _

_Visions of light, sweeter delight_

_Kissing my love-ache"_

Her singing forced Twilight to wake. He opened his eyes and unfortunately for him, rolled over and off the couch. Twilight rolled off with a thud, but he immediately snapped to his feet as if "he meant to do that." He too stretched his arms up in the air and yawned. The maverick caught sound of Aayla's singing.

"_How come I must know, where obsession needs to go? _

_How come I must know, where the passion hides its' feelings? _

_How come I must know, where obsession needs to go? _

_How come I must know, the direction of relieving?"_

_Wow_…Twilight thought to himself._ She's good._ He decided to tip-toe towards the bathroom in order to hear her song better. She was still singing when she shut the water off and just as he put his ear up to the door, she opened it. Twilight fell sideways and toppled over the twi'lek. Her towel almost opened up and she hurried and put her hands around it to make sure it stayed shut.

"Excuse me! Didn't I tell you to stay away from the bathroom while I'm in there!" roared Aayla.

"Beggin' your pardon!" he said hastily while picking himself up. "I…err...was just-", he began but Aayla cut him off.

"You were just what? Just wanted to catch a peep?" She was blushing even harder than he was. The cerulean female stormed off to her bedroom and slammed the door.

"No I was just…" said Twilight, but his voice shrank so she couldn't hear him. "…just trying to listen to you sing..." The rogue sat back down on the couch he had slept on. He wondered why he had not tried to catch a little glimpse of the slender twi'lek female. Certainly she was beautiful enough and definitely worth a peek, but Twilight didn't look as he thought he would have. After a few moments, Aayla came out of her room fully dressed and in quite a mood. She advanced on Twilight as soon as she entered the living room.

"So what were you doing creeping up to the door while I was in the bathroom, hmm?" Twilight snapped up and backed away.

"I was just trying to listen to your lovely voice, that's all!" he said hastily. Aayla stopped dead in her tracks. _He…heard me singing?_ She thought to herself.

"You…heard me singing?" She said as she went red.

"Of course, how could I not hear something so beautiful?" said Twilight. Aayla went crimson.

"You're just saying that so I won't pummel you…" she said as she looked at the floor.

"No, I really mean it." He replied. After a few moments of awkward silence, the renegade spoke again. "So…anything you want for breakfast?" Aayla turned her mind on to food.

"I don't think I have anything here…" she said, scratching her head. "But the dining hall might have something to eat. Let's roll."

The pair wandered through the halls, went down two turbo lifts and finally arrived at the Dining Hall. Aayla sunk deep into a stack of declicious blueberry pancakes made with real batter imported all the way from Alderaan and some orange juice made from real oranges imported all the way from the fields of Naboo. The sauce with berries on top was almost like an orgasm with every bite. Twilight himself ate just enough…to feed five people. The man had a mountain of food resting on his plate so large it could've fed a dewback. Aayla looked up from her wonderful breakfast to see Twilight gorge himself on food. He practically had his face stuck in his pile of goodies. One after another, plate after plate, things such as eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, bowls of stew, and pastries were devoured. The twi'lek's jaw dropped as she watched him eat. The renegade had a large pile of dishes after he was done gorging and everyone in the immediate vicinity was staring at him.

"What?" he said as he looked around at everyone

"You -do- know how much you just ate...right?" asked Aayla. Twilight looked perplexed.

"What!" he said again. Secura just shook her head.

"Nothing. C'mon, let's go to the council chambers now that we're fed." Aayla stood up and led Twilight away from the Dining Hall. As they were leaving, he tried to grab another pastry but she yanked on his arm and pulled him away. Five minutes later, they were standing in front of the chamber doors. Shaak-Ti and Kit Fisto were waiting for them outside. They entered the room but to find that the entire council was not present. Only Master Yoda, Master Mundi, and Master Windu were present.

"Early, you are." Chimed Yoda. The four of them bowed and stood there patiently. Kit Fisto tapped his foot while Windu began to explain the situation.

"As I'm sure YOU know, Twilight, the separatists have many agents hidden within the Republic just as we have ours hidden in their folds. One of our moles gave us the possible name of a senator that is doing business with Dooku. He's a Zabrak by the name of Archuletta Saargesso who is believed to be the head of a smuggling ring for Dooku. He's sponsoring an "Orphans of War" banquet at the Glimmering Palace Casino here on Coruscant and later shuttling people to his private estate for a party. Twilight, you are to pose as a High Roller interested in helping "Orphans" of the war in order to get into the banquet and later to his party. Master Fisto will pose as your bodyguard. Aayla, Shaak-Ti, you are to pose as his escorts. We must know if this senator is actually is running weapons and black market goods for the Separatists." Mace Windu paused.

"But master…" asked Aayla. "…Why not just show up as Jedi and question him that way?"

"Kept secret in this matter, our involvement must be." Replied Yoda calmly. "No one outside of the Council knows of this mission, and tell no one else, you will."

"I understand master." Aayla said as she looked at the ground.

"Good then. I expect nothing less than your best for this assignment." Said Ki-Adi-Mundi. Aayla, Shaak-Ti, Fisto, and Twilight left the chambers.

"We'll meet up back here at 12 o'clock to get ready." Said Fisto as he bowed to them and walked off down the hall.  
"So what are we going to do until then?" asked Twilight.

"I don't know." Said Aayla. "But you're staying in the temple." Aayla turned away and Shaak-Ti caught Twilight sticking his tongue out at her. She couldn't help but giggle at him. The twi'lek spun on heel so Twilight immediately stopped and suddenly became very interested in the contents of his pockets.

"Am I ever going to get my lightsaber back?" he asked Shaak-Ti.

"All in due time my friend. Just as soon as the council is sure we can trust you!" she replied with a cheery smile.

"Ah…I see…" Twilight did not like the sound of that. At this rate, he'd probably never get it back. Aayla and Shaak-Ti left him there and Master Luminara instructed her padawan, Bariss to keep an eye on him, so everywhere he went she tagged along behind. Twilight knew he was being followed, but he paid her no mind and spent all his time meditating. Shaak-Ti and Aayla went out for a walk and tried to figure out anything they could about this mysterious man. Their efforts brought up that he might be a Mandalorian, but there have been no Mandalorian Jedi ever documented as far as they knew. Plus, supposedly the only one left was that bounty hunter called Jango Fett, and they both saw Master Windu defeat him in the Geonosian arena. They did conclude that he must have once had Jedi training, as he knew a Jedi code, and even though he was wild and unpredictable, often kept himself with restraint. They also discussed why he wore that metallic mask on his face. He was quite the handsome devil…and he showed no fear in front of the Jedi Masters. What could he possibly be hiding his face from?

The pair went through several more theories…each more unlikely than the last. After about...three hours(persistent, aren't they?), they decided that they should return to the Temple and prepare for their task ahead. As soon as they returned to the temple, Aayla and Shaak-Ti walked through the corridors of the Jedi building and passed an open meditation chamber. Bariss was leaning against the wall outside it, and on the inside, Twilight was sitting my himself. The only light was coming from the open door. Other than the rectangular box of light, he was completely saturated in darkness. Alone.

"Has he done anything else while we were away?" questioned Shaak-Ti. The padawan sighed and shook her head.

"No. He came here and hasn't moved since he sat down. Few Jedi meditate that long...it vexes me on how he can stay that focused when there are his enemies all around him." replied Bariss.

"We are not that mans' enemies..."said Shaak-Ti softly. "until he makes it happen."

The sight was somewhat unsettling and gave Aayla an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. She would have decided to pay it no mind, until she caught a very disturbing mental image.

She saw a room. In the center of the room there was a bacta tank. Inside the tank there was a man. He was unconcious inside it which was filled with some kind of green liquid. He had a breathing mask on and was covered in sensors and I.V. tubes. He was floating helplessly inside and had several people around him. A few looked like technicians, a few looked like scientists...Techno Union scientists...and a few looked very, very important. After a split second of the image, she regained focus and found herself back inisde the Jedi Temple, looking at Twilight.

"You know Miss Secura, one might think you were staring." said Twilight without turning around. Aayla caught herself and looked away, blushing lightly. Shaak-Ti grinned and stifled a giggle. The rogue stood and turned to face them. His face looked tired, but his eyes were bright and alert. Secura noticed something odd about him yet again. His eyes...they looked different somehow. She stared into his sapphire colored eyes for several moments before he broke eye contact.  
"So, preparing are we?" he asked.

"Indeed we are." Shaak-Ti replied. She motioned for Aayla and Twilight to follow her and all of them left to prepare themselves for the upcoming ordeal.

Aayla and Shaak-Ti were to pose as escorts. Meaningless concubines that could eavesdrop on any conversation and have no clue what it meant, so long as they got paid and shown a good time. That meant they could spy at will, although they needed to keep their mouths closed for that to work. The two of them had to select outfits that would make them look the part, but tried to choose something that could spare at least a shred of their dignity. They went for twenty minutes, and everything was either too revealing, or not revealing enough. They had about twenty articles each in the "No" pile, and one or two a piece in the "Maybe" pile. They kept searching, hoping to find something good. Twilight walked into their chambers, led by Fisto. Both Aayla and Shaak-Ti began to protest until FIsto held up his hand.

"Twilight says he can help you pick something...after all, this field of diguise is well known to him." said Fisto calmly, then turned and left. Twilight sighed to himself and crossed his arms.

"Now...you need to choose something that will make you look convincingly like an 'escort'." he said softly, using finger quotations. "You have to look the part or you'll never pass. You must shed your pride in order to become completely involved in your role."

"You sound like an actor." said Aayla crossly.

"Well my dear, you pick up a few things in my line of work." he replied calmly.

The renegade was protested at many times before they had their outfits chosen. After another hour of this tedious task Shaak-Ti was ready, but Aayla was proving to be contrary. Every time Twilight suggested something to her, she would acuse him of wanting her revealed to him.

"You know what? Fine, let's do it your way." Said Twilight as he tossed her a simply gray dress. Aayla looked at it, and turned her nose up at it as Twilight sighed yet again.

"Fine! Hang on a second.." Aayla adjourned into the changing room and a moments later she came back out wearing an extremely exotic leotard with platinum bangles on her wrists, a necklace that held a lapis lazuli gem, and a twi'lek bone crest on her head that seemed to have a green force crystal centered in it. Twilight was reluctant to turn around to see what she had put on, but when he did turn his eyes to her his jaw dropped. She looked gorgeous.

"I..erm...you...look...spectac...erm..." sputtered Twilight as he hastily turned back around, "...that'll do nicely." Master Fisto had finally arrived and was decked out in light combat armor, dark shades, and blaster holstered at his hip. He strode in rather unelegantly, almost acting clumsy, but not nearly enough to really be noticed. It would appear Kit Fisto knew what he was doing, thank the force for that. They adjourned from their changing room to allow Twilight himself to get ready and as soon as the door shut, he began to shed his robes. It had felt like ages since he last worn anything else besides his jedi clothing and he welcomed the change in appearance. He looked through the wardrobe of outfits before he had selected his garments and as he was putting on the jacket he looked at his reflection in the mirror. The maverick looked like some kind of cocky hotshot pilot: perfect. As he exited the changing room, Fisto, Shaak-Ti and Secura were waiting for him. Aayla looked reproachful but did not openly complain. Shaak-Ti looked quiet pleasant and Master Fisto looked as stern as ever.

_Very soon..._ Twilight thought to himself, _This'll be over soon...and the Jedi will know crossing me was the biggest mistake they'll make._

Just some side notes, sorry this took so freaking long, I had a bunch of crap to deal with, and ON TOP OF THAT I had freakin writer's block...which really sucks. Thanks for being so patient.


	5. Things can Always get Worse

Apologies. After a long time of being lazy, writers block, and computer down times, I've finally finished chapter five and are currently working on the next chapter. Hope you enjoy and again, sorry for takin' my sweet time.

**Chapter Five**:

_Things Can Always get Worse_

Things were going as planned as the group was leaving The Glimmering Palace. Master Fisto hadn't spotted anything out of the ordinary. Shaak-Ti seemed to have a pleasant evening, but Twilight could tell Aayla was rather uncomfortable. After all, she was dressed rather skimpily in front of complete strangers as well as being forced to act like a dark side adept's concubine, it'd be enough to make any self respecting Jedi Knight uncomfortable. They were walking down the steps towards the taxi's and Twilight held the door for Aayla, Shaak-Ti, and Master Fisto. Off in the distance, their target observed this behavior and made a mental note of it. The taxi took off and began to shuttle them to Archuletta's penthouse. Twilight did nothing but look down towards his feet and twiddle his thumbs. Shaak-Ti was conversing softly with Master Fisto and Aayla was staring out the window. After a few moments of this and then a few moments of uncomfortable silence, they arrived at Archuletta's place.

Fisto exited the vehicle and held it open for the others. Twilight got out and held out his hand for Shaak-Ti, who graciously accepted it and followed him. As he held out his hand for Aayla, she ignored it and stood up. Twilight snorted.

_"I'd rather be back in their little jail right now..."_ he thought to himself. A greeter met the foursome and led them up to a turbolift which would take them to the top floor suite. All of them met in a circle and began going over their gameplan.

"Alright, how are we going to find out what we need?" asked Fisto.

"The most logical solution would be to get him off on his own and pump him for information." replied Shaak-Ti.

"I agree. Look...he's over there right now...looking at one of us..." Twilight said as he traced Sargesso's eyes all the way back to Aayla. "Aayla, I think he fancy's you. He's staring right at you." he said, almost sounding a little envious. Fisto nodded and spoke up again,

"Aayla, you'll have to get him on his own, use any means neccessary. Give us a signal, and we'll come help you as soon as you have him cornered. Got it?" Aayla was clearly not hapy with this. She looked like she could cry, but she just nodded and dissappeared into the crowd. As she backed away, Twilight caught her in the eyes for a moment. She looked into his dark eyes and saw concern, which surprised her. She hastily looked away and tried to cover up the fact she was blushing. She strode around for a few minutes and finally spotted Sargesso again.

Fisto took out a PDA and monitered the security as well as Aayla's location. Music was plaing out over a dance floor and there was a bartender giving out drinks just behind it. Twilight shuffled over to it and sat down next to a pale, bald man who was wearing a black cloak. Right away Twilight could tell that this man was a dark side desciple, but he made no motion that he knew this. The man seemed oblivious to everything around him save the bar in front.

"Barkeep, i'll have a Corellian Brandy, make it a double." his voice was cold and raspy and it actually made Twilight shiver all the way down his spine. Twilight ordered the special of the house, which seemed to be similar to a Tatooine Sunburn, but much more fruity. As the rogue downed his drink, he closed his eyes for a minute and when he reopened them, the man next to him was gone.

"Strange...well I hope Aayla's doing alright..." he said to himself as he finished the rest of his drink.

"So concerned for her, are you?" came Shaak-Ti's voice from behind him.

"A little, yeah." he replied.

"Don't worry, she can take care of herself." she said with a cheery smile. She gazed over her shoulder to the dance floor and grinned as she turned and looked back at Twilight. "I don't suppose you dance?"

Twilight didn't know what to make of this question. He sputtered, "I...um...er...yeah, I can...why do you ask?" he said, rather confused.

"Oh c'mon, let's dance then!" she said as she grabbed him by the hand and led him off to the floor. The music sounded like a rage trance, so they danced accordingly. Shaak-Ti was pretty good, and she thought Twilight wasn't bad herself. The song ended and a slower one came on over the sound system. He didn't catch what Shaak-Ti was saying at the moment, but he suddenly grabbed her by the waist and and started to dance along with the music.

'Wha?" was all she had time to say before they began dancing. He looked down into her eyes and whispered,

"Someone's watching us...up on the second floor...behind that pillar..." he said, and she looked over his shoulder and sure enough, she saw two men, probably some of Sargesso's thugs. They turned away and busied watching the rest of the club.

"They were probably just bouncers, Twilight. You're so jumpy, you need to relax and let your spirit calm." Twilight rolled his eyes and they continued to dance until the song ended. Shaak-Ti went to look for Master Fisto. Twilight was standing alone, surrounded by people in the middle of the dance floor when the next rave song picked up. People were moving their hips to the music and Twilight caught himself checking out a few of the girls nearby. Some noticed, and winked at him. It was then he saw someone...familiar.

Sargesso was sitting with Aayla in a booth. He was laughing about something, probably talking big about himself even though Twilight knew he was just an insect. There were three other people in the booth with him. Some high roller and his rent-a-girlfriend, and someone else...a tall, pale human with moderate black hair and glasses. She looked young, but not too young. The woman was dressed for the occasion, but Twilight could tell by how neat, clean, and sterile her clothes were that he was a scientist.

"H-her!" he whispered to himself. His voice was shaking with slight fear, and years of suppressed anger. Twilight reached into his pocket and withdrew a small, metallic cube which shaped out into his mask. He put it across his face, memories flooding back to him. He started advancing slowly, not aware that Sargesso's guards were watching him, and several pushed their way through the large dance crowds to get to him. Five bouncers stood around him, all wielding batons. Twilight halted and looked up at the nearest guard, his eyes darkening. "Let's dance." he spoke out and on que, the guard lunged at him.

Twilight held his hands up and dodged the swing from his baton and countered by kicking him in the side of the knee, breaking it with a sickening crunch and a painful yell. The gaurd dropped and another came at him, swinging violently with his club. The maverick struck him in the chest with his palm open, grabbed him and shoved his face to the floor, and silenced him with a kick to the neck. The other three all charged in at once and Twilight went low to the ground on one hand and swept all of their feet out from under them. He caught one of their batons out of the air and as one went to get up, he struck the bouncer over the head. Twilight releived him of his baton and took the blaster out of his coat. All five of the men on the ground were moaning slightly. The rogue noticed two guards on the second level listen in on their radios, look down, and then sped off towards the lift. Others were likely to come.

As Twilight advanced over to his booth, he saw that Sargesso had two guards standing behind it. Twilight lifted the blaster and shot both in the chest. They dropped to the ground. People nearby screamed and began to run while guards fought the crowds to reach their position. Twilight was walking over to the booth as a guard came from behind him and grabbed him around the neck. Twilight paused, flipped the pawn over his head and struck him across the face with his baton. Sargesso was bellowing something into a comm, Aayla had gotten up and darted off to find Shaak-Ti and Fisto, but the other man, his girl, and the pale woman were still sitting there. Her face was full of fear as she gazed at the mask on his face. Sargesso was still shouting, but Twilight hear the name, 'Dooku' in the rambling, and he knew he had the man the Jedi were looking for.

"Who the hell are you?" he finally turned away from his comm and Sargesso looked up at the maverick. People were not fleeing, but everyone within the vicinity was back up at a distance, looking on at him.

"Twilight."

"Twilight! The hell kind of name is that? Boys! Waste this freak." Everyone seemd to blink, and as soon as their eyes opened, the guards that had rushed Twilight were lying on the ground. "What do you want?"

"Vengence." he spoke cooly.

"Vengence! Punk I don't even know who you are, and you damn sure as hell must not know who I am!" Sargesso's voice was mixed with anger, fear, arrogance, and unsurity. The pale woman spoke up.

"He's come to collect what we owe him..Archuletta.." She sounded scared. Aayla, Shaak-Ti, and Fisto were on the second floor, watching the spectacle. Twilight pulled the ribbon out of his hair, letting his topknot fall down around him. His long hair reached almost to his waist and his bangs covered his eyes. "Remeber, Sargesso? Subject 2401..." she turned away from the Zabrak and looked at Twilight. "Twilight...strange title you gave yourself...I always thought you had a cute name, Ido..." her voice was almost non-existant at this point, her hands were trembling, and tears were welling up in her eyes.

"YOU!" gasped Sargesso. "Now I remember you...subject - 2401, Garack, Ido...one of the only successful attempts. Tell me, do you still have your bar code tattooed on your arm? I bet you still wear your dog tags." Sargesso sounded less afraid now and if possible, even more arrogant. Twilight stood silent. "I'm sure -he- will be most pleased to hear you're still alive. Nobody thought you made it off that rock."

Aayla looked at Shaak-Ti, who looked at Fisto, who shrugged. "Master Yoda said he knew something about him and that he'd tell the council after this assignment was finished."

"Shouldn't we stop him? He looks as if he's going to kill him!" said Shaak-Ti. Master Fisto nodded, but spoke again.

"It does look like he's going to kill him, but Aayla couldn't get any information. Threatening him might be the only way to find out what we need, and Twilight's the only one in the position to do that." Shaak-Ti did not look pleased by this, but Fisto could tell she agreed.

The maverick stood silently. One hand gripped on the blaster, the other on the baton. "What're you going to do, kill us? You may be nothing more than an animal, but animals can be put down." He looked around and Twilight followed his vision to notice that there were several guards all over the place with rifles trained on him. Twilight took one step forward, Sargesso snapped his fingers, the woman screamed, and Aayla shouted.

"NO!"

Twilight's body was repeatedly riddled with blaster fire for several moments. Someone tossed a grenade in and the explosion covered him. Sargesso held his hand up and his guards ceased fire. The smoke cleared and Twilight was lying on the ground, motionless. The woman burst into tears, Shaak-Ti buried her face in her hands, and Aayla could do nothing but stare, her own feelings rather mixed at the moment. Sargesso laughed triumphantly as his guards moved out of the cover and walked over to the rogue's body. They were no more than a few paces away when Twilight snapped up off the ground and stuck his hand out at the face of the nearest guard. Instantly all nine of them screamed in agonizing pain as an electrical storm erupted from Twilight's hand. He let up on the force storm and all of them collapsed onto the ground, smoke rising from their bodies. It was unsure if he had killed any of them, except the one closest to him, which seemed to have a charred crater where his face should have been. Sargesso growled and summoned more guards to him, but Twilight wasn't going to wait any longer.

He charged forward with lightning speed. Sargesso pulled a blaster off his belt, but the action was quite delayed. Twilight was upon him and he held the zabrak up off the ground by the throat with one hand, and held his weapon arm at bay with the other.

"D-don't k-kill me! I'll tell you whatever you want to know!" his voice was strained and panicked. "Please!"

"Why did you use me as your lab rat!" Twilight yelled at the top of his lungs.

"You were an optimal choice..most of the other candidates were either too weak..or too unstable! You were projected as one of the only who would survive the process relatively unharmed. So, they couldn't let you go and they couldn't kill you."

"You should have killed me. You, them, her..." Twilight looked over at the crying woman. "...you took everything. My past...my future...my life! You took my pride and my dignity!" he yelled again. Twilight clamped down so hard that Sargesso yelped and dropped his blaster.

"It wasn't up to me...I was only the financier! I didn't know about what they were doing until after I'd gotten what I wanted from them." choked the zabrak.

"And that makes it alright? You're pathetic." Twilight dropped Sargesso onto the ground and turned his back on him. At this time, the man pulled a knife and stuck into Twilight's back. The maverick roared, fell forward, and reached for the knife.

"I'm pathetic! I don't know what the hell you're thinking. What past? What future? You're life was nothing before what we did to you! Pride and dignity are an illusion for you. You crawled on all fours like a beast and you dare to call me pathetic? You were an animal then, and you're an animal now. We just gave you claws." Twilight growled fiercely, pulling the knife from his back, he turned and threw it at Sargesso. Catching the man in his knee, he howled in pain and called more guards on his comm. "Damnit, this isn't what you promised Dooku!" Sargesso yelled in anger. Twilight kicked up the blaster pistol and delivered two shots to the chest and one to the head. Sargesso's body fell backwards. Twilight shifted slightly and shot the other man twice, already knowing that he was in on Sargesso's little black dealings. He then turned to the woman.

"For every action...there is an equal but opposite reaction. Why did you do this to me?" he said, his voice calm.

"I...I didn't want to...my genetic research...my husband..they blackmailed me into helping. I always thought you were so kind...I never understood why they chose you as a subject." she said inbetween sobs.

"You know I have to do this." he held the blaster up and took aim at her chest. "If you didn't want to do it, you should have gone to the authorities...or hell..the Jedi might have done something." Twilight's finger stroked the trigger lightly, he began to press down, but he stopped when someone called out.

"Stop!" Aayla, Shaak-Ti, and Master Fisto were all on the first floor not more than a leap away from him. It was then Twilight realized that all the other bistanders were gone. Fisto had his own blaster drawn and pressed against Twilight's temple. The maverick sighed and tossed his weapon to the ground.

"Ido..you came all this way...but you're not going to take your revenge? I..won't stop you...I don't deserve anything better."

"Be quiet Dr. Lazarus...you no more deserve my wrath than any of them..." he looked at Fisto, who moved his weapon away, then to Shaak-Ti, then to Aayla. "Emotions are a tricky business...even Jedi have a hard time with them..." Twilight helped Dr. Lazarus up and they all moved towards the turbolift. The lift doors shut and at the same time, the other lift opened and heavily armed guards spilled out of it.


	6. A Job Well Done, Sort of

Y'know... it's taken me way too damn long to write this chapter. I'd randomly get a message saying 'Story Alert added' and I'd go bwah? But.. after over a year of sitting on my thumb and constant interruptions... here it is. Chapter Seven will hopefully soon follow.**

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**Chapter Six**:

_A Job Well Done...Sort Of_

They had returned to the Jedi Temple and were immediately summoned to the Council Chambers, despite it being rather late at night. Everyone looked as neat as when they had departed for their mission…except Twilight. His clothes were disheveled, scorched, and riddled with holes. A sleeve of his jacket and shirt were torn accordingly, revealing the skin from his shoulder to his elbow and his hair was loose, having come undone when guards had ganged up on him. The group walked into the council chambers and he immediately felt singled out as many of the Jedi masters hid how surprised they were at his scraggly appearance.

"Our assignment is complete, so to speak." said Kit Fisto, bowing to the rest of the council. He gave them a detailed report of everything that had transpired from the moment they entered the Glimmering Palace Casino to the very awkward silence shared while they left and stopped by a place for a bite to eat before returning to the Temple, as Twilight urged they might have been followed. They did not see any signs of anyone watching or following them as they left Dex's Diner. The Jedi masters looked around at each other, as if talking to one another through the expressions on their faces.

"So you established that Sargesso was indeed the one we suspected before his life was terminated?" asked Windu, the word "terminated" emphasized coldly.

"Yes..." said Twilight, equally cold. "He mentioned Count Dooku as I was approaching his booth. I held him hostage for a few moments, we exchanged certain unpleasant words, and I had decided on not hurting him until he attacked me from behind. More unpleasant words were exchanged. After I...returned his knife he cursed Dooku's name aloud saying, 'This isn't what you promised.'", said Twilight. "Deserved what he got, the arrogant prick." he added in a mumble. Aayla seemed to be the only one who heard him, or made notice they heard and elbowed him in the side. It made Twilight jump slightly as he was too preoccupied staring back coldly at the stern Jedi Masters interrogating him to sense it coming.

"Shaak-Ti, would you please wait in the hall with Twilight? And send in Dr. Lazarus." asked Ki-Adi Mundi. Shaak-Ti nodded and she escorted the maverick out of the chambers, the pale woman striding past them. She hurried to pass Twilight, too afraid or too ashamed to look up at him. Twilight had made no acknowledgement that she had left Sargesso's residence with them, hoping to avoid any uncomfortable moments as well as any conversation that might spark rage in him. She stood in the circle before the council members hesitated before bowing slightly to them, which Mace Windu nodded in return.

"Your full name, would you state for us please?" said Yoda, looking up from his chair. The Jedi master noticed that Aayla had a grim look on her face and even felt disgust for the woman standing beside her. He could tell that she was upset about whatever had been done to Twilight, and knew she was responsible.

"C-certainly…my name is Dr. Isabelle Lazarus. I'm a genetic researcher formerly of the Republic's Medical Research and Development based here on Coruscant." At first, Dr. Lazarus felt frightened about confessing to her wrong doings, but in the middle of her sentence she began to gain confidence that while Twilight had not necessarily forgiven her for what had happened, he did not hold her personally responsible. She looked back when he discarded his weapon, she knew it was not out of concern that Fisto would shoot him.

"How were you involved with Sargesso?", inquired Windu.

"My..husband disappeared on his way home from the Senate Chambers..he was one of the Guard Captains who oversee their meetings, you know that of course..." she mumbled, wiping her eyes with a thumb. "I received a holomail the next day saying he would be killed if I didn't resign from my work with the Republic and work for Sargesso's bio-engineering team. I would have called the authorities...or come straight to the Jedi, but they threatened against that as well...I felt it'd be the only way to save him if I just gave in and did what they asked..." She lowered her head, her glasses slipping down a bit on her nose. Dr. Lazarus looked up again, straightened her spectacles and took another deep breath. The little green Jedi Master already knew from the glimpses of Twilight's memories of what happened, but the rest of the Council would need to hear it straight from Lazarus.

"The work you were put to at Sargesso's bidding, elaborate for us?"

"He had me working with what appeared to be an already assembled team of the best Bio-engineers and geneticists from across the galaxy. They wanted to enhance subjects, I always thought they were to be used as weapons, but never a galactic war."

Adi Galia glanced down at the data pad in her lap, studying it for several moments before clearing her throat. "How many subjects were there, can you recall?"

"I wasn't brought in at the beginning of the research…it's my belief that there were hundreds of attempted experiments, most of which failed. Twilight was one of only a handful that survived all of the genetic augmentation processes." Dr. Lazarus held both hands out in front of her. Ki-Adi Mundi tilted his head a bit and peered at the scientist.

"What sort of experiments were done on the rebel and the others that survived?"

"Skeletal structure reinforcement, neural enhancers, muscle density enhancers, gene therapy and splicing." With the last word, Fisto raised an eyebrow and raised the question.

"'Spicing', doctor?"

"Yes…the technique is to take the genetic material of something, generally a species with desirable traits and combining it with that of the subject."

"And the young man was put under this treatment?"

"That's correct…his genetic material was paired with that of reptile indigenous to Tatooine, commonly known as a krayt dragon." There was a flutter of quiet talking amongst the Jedi Council members and Dr. Lazarus gulped.

"Can you tell us how this 'splicing' effected him?" questioned Rancisis Oppo

"Without all the enhancements done to his body, the genetic material introduced would have mutated him. Testing showed an increase of sight, smell, hearing, strength, speed, agility, reaction time, endurance, all of it was nearly tripled. He showed considerable resistance to heat, electrical, and energy discharge, though no noticeable change in cold tolerance."

"He can distinguish the drop of a pin in the middle of a crowded lower street, see in virtual darkness, and his skin became tough as a krayt dragon's hide. For some unknown reason, his eyes occasionally tend to shift color." Once again the Jedi Council members whispered back and forth, nodding and turning back to look at the woman with minimal expression.

"You said that the Zabrak Sargesso was not the project leader?"

"No, the research was only being funded by him…I cannot say that I know who started it."

"You also mentioned there were others who made it through your experimenting?" Lazarus cringed at it being called 'her experimenting' though she nodded and looked up.

"There were six others that made it through the augmenting successfully. I have data on five of them. Information on Twilight is limited, all I have left on him are basics and research data. I haven't anything on the sixth, only that he was a male human."

"What more about Twilight, can you tell us hmm" Inquired Yoda. He placed both hands on the top of his cane, leaning forward.

"I don't know anything about him before he was brought in. His real name is Ido Garrack and he had this with him." She pulled her purse from her shoulder and opened it, withdrawing the chipped and worn hilt of a lightsaber. "It doesn't work as far as I can tell…" Aayla, who had been staring ice at the scientist raised both eyebrows, finally poising a question of her own.

"Why does he wear that metallic face-mask?" Lazarus frowned, running a hand through her hair to straighten a few stray strands and spoke quietly.

"After the mainstay of the treatments and the splicing procedures, he became increasingly…reclusive and showed signs of mental instability. Ido grew irritable and hostile towards the wardens and scientists that came to move him from treatment. As a pair of them getting ready to move him, he lashed out and broke one man's legs with the chair in his cell.

Two orderlies came to restrain him…nearly tore out his throat. Since then, they had him chained and his face covered in a mask so that he wouldn't harm any of the other researchers."

Secura blinked at hearing the grim details. She had thought it might be something a little more mysterious, not nearly as simple as being treated like an animal. The Jedi council members began to stand one by one and they all bowed to Dr. Lazarus. Windu stepped forward and extended his hand to take hers, shaking it lightly before bowing his head.

"Thank you for your cooperation. We'll need all of the research data you still have and we'd like you to remain here until a time where we feel it's safe for you to return home. One more thing...may I hold on to that?" Windu held out his hand and gestured at the lightsaber in her grasp. Lazarus looked down at it as if it were her most precious trinket, though her shoulders slumped a bit as she placed it into his hand.

"A-alright…if you feel that would be best Master Jedi…" she lowered her gaze to the floor in front of her. Master Fisto escorted her from the chambers and Mace Windu, Ki-Adi Mundi, and Master Yoda all remained. They stopped Aayla from leaving.

"Aayla, you and Shaak-Ti will look after Garrack for the time being. He may be the only lead we have to getting more information." Aayla nodded and bowed her head. As they all turned to leave, she peered at Twilight. Shaak-Ti had her back turned to the maverick and Secura was given the same mental image as before. Ido 'Twilight' Garrack was floating in a bacta tank completely surrounded by a dark green liquid. The only life from the tank was the very slow rise and fall of his chest and the bubbles floating up from his rebreather. As if awakening from a nightmare, his eyes tore open and he looked around frantically, the heart-rate moniter rapidly increasing. The man began to pound on the inside of the tank, screaming at the top of his lungs, the the only thing that came out was a rapid jet of bubbles.

Aayla shook her head and blinked a few times, standing once again in the Jedi Temple. As she looked back at Twilight, she caught his eye. He was looking at them over his shoulder, his eyes practically on fire. His dark crimson gaze bore through her and she instantly knew that he'd heard everything that the Council discussed.


End file.
